Edmond Bezik (; , born 12 August 1975 in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Iran) is a retired

Armenian-Iranian Iranian Armenians (; ), also known as Persian Armenians (; ), are Iranians of Armenian ethnicity who may speak Armenian as their first language. Estimates of their number in Iran range from 70,000 to 500,000. Areas with a high concentration o ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He played for

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi-Varzeši-ye Fulâd-e Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan, is an Iranian sports club based in Isfahan. It is best known for their football section that play in the P ...

and

Ararat Tehran FC Ararat (, ''Ârarat Tehran'') is an Armenians in Iran, Armenian diaspora soccer, football team based in Tehran, Iran who play in the Tehran Province League. Ararat football club is the soccer, football club of the multisport club, multisport A ...

and was a member of

Iran national football team The Iran national football team (), recognised as IR Iran by FIFA since 2018, represents Iran in men's international senior Association football, football and is governed by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). At the cont ...

. He is currently head coach of

's under-23 team.

Club career

Bezik originally started his play in the FC Ararat Tehran, which has a policy of recruiting young Iranian footballers of Armenian ancestry. There he was noticed for his impressive finishing skills, and was soon transferred to Persepolis Tehran. There he was able to please fans and scored some memorable goals. Arguably his most memorable game may have been in 1996 during the Tehran derby between Persepolis FC and Esteghlal. Persepolis had not beaten Esteghlal for seven seasons, but Bezik was able to score the last minute winner in that match to claim a spot in many Persepolis fan's hearts. Success was short-lived though and after a couple of very poor seasons, he along with many other Persepolis players were let go from the team. Bezik was immediately signed by Foolad Sepahan. His move to

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

was just what his career needed. In the 2002–03 season of the IPL, Bezik became the league's top goalscorer with 13 goals, and led the team to the league championship. He was deservedly called up to the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

and was starting to make his way into the squad when he became injured. He has come back from his injury but has not been able to score consistently. When new Sepahan manager,

Luka Bonačić Luka Bonačić (; born 21 March 1955) is a Croatian football coach and former professional player. Early life He was born in Split, Croatia that was then part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He began his football career at the Spli ...

was hired, he deemed that Bezik was not needed for the squad. Bezik signed a one-year contract with

Azadegan League The Azadegan League (, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 (, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from its foundation in 1991 until 2001, when t ...

outfit, Shahrdari Bandar Abbas, with whom he will be playing until the end of the 2006–07 season. Bezik's work ethic, and hard work is always a positive point for his clubs.

Top goalscorer

Having scored 22 goals for Ararat, 32 goals for Persepolis and 30 goals for Sepahan, he scored a total number of 84 goals during his time in Iran's top division football league, becoming the top division's all-time top goalscorer.

Honours

Club

;Persepolis *

Iranian Football League The Iranian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for soccer, football clubs in Iran. Structure The current structure has been in place since 2001. The Iran's Premier Football League, Pro League is the highest level of cl ...

(3): 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000 *

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (, ) formerly known as Pahlavi Cup () is an Iranian knockout football competition held annually by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian Football League, Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, h ...

(1): 1998–99 ;Sepahan *

(1): 2002–03 *

(1): 2003–04

Individual

Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...

Top Goalscorer: 2002–03

References

"Close-Up on Edmond Bezik"
Persianfootball.com, 2 January 2005, Retrieved 18 July 2006
"مصاحبه با ادموند بزيك"
Tebyan.net, 29 May 2003, Retrieved 18 July 2006

External links

a
TeamMelli.comEdmond Bezik
at Tehran Football Committee {{DEFAULTSORT:Bezik, Edmund 1975 births Living people Footballers from Tehran Iranian people of Armenian descent Iranian men's footballers Ethnic Armenian sportspeople Iran men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Persepolis F.C. players F.C. Shahrdari Bandar Abbas players Sepahan S.C. footballers F.C. Ararat Tehran players Persian Gulf Pro League players Azadegan League players Persepolis F.C. non-playing staff